The Legacy of the Traveling Pants
by kendokao
Summary: The time has come for Lena, Bridget, Carmen, and Tibby to pass on the Traveling Pants to a new generation - their daughters. It's gonna be a summer to remember for this second-generation Sisterhood!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: While I do have a copy of both books, I do not own the Traveling Pants. Or the Sisterhood. But hey, my birthday's only a month away, so if you want any ideas… :P

A/N: Okay, here goes, my first Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants fic. It's so hard to find any Traveling Pants fics, so I thought I'd take matters into my own hands. This is pretty different from most of what I've seen. (And ok, maybe all 4 girls having daughters the same age is too convenient, but o well) Instead, this is the story of the daughters of the Sisterhood. I hope u folks like the result!

**The Legacy of the Traveling Pants**

_"Once upon a time there was a pair of pants…" –The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants_

Once upon a time, there were four girls who, may it be by chance or something more, stumbled across a bit of magic. Now don't get me wrong, this story is no fairy tale; it is merely a tale of love, laughter, life, and a very special pair of pants. To some people that may sound absurd. "What could be so special about a pair of pants?" they might ask. On the other hand, I see the pants and think, _What's__ not to love?_ A classic, well-loved, well-worn pair of blue jeans with a lot of history behind them. Every pair of pants has a story to tell. And boy, do these pants ever have a story.

My mother was fifteen-going-on-sixteen, the same age I am now, when she first came across the Pants in a nearby thrift store. Back then they were just a seemingly ordinary pair of jeans, having yet to prove their magic. The way my mom tells it, she almost threw them away. But she didn't. Instead, she and her three lifelong best friends discovered the magic, and it kept them together during their first summer apart, as well as throughout the summers that followed.

Somehow, however, over time the Pants found themselves in the back of my mom's closet, far away from their days in the sun. A sad but necessary life transition, I suppose. That, as my mom once put it, is the Way of the Pants. And maybe it was the Way of the Pants that brought them back into the light just in time for my first summer apart from _my_ lifelong best friends.

Our mothers were the Septembers, the original Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Friends from birth – before birth, if that's even possible – I suppose it must've been a miracle that all four of them became pregnant within the same year, even more so that all four babies were girls. With that kind of history, it was inevitable that we would grow up together, and fitting that we would be best friends for life.

We all have our strengths and our weaknesses, but I think that's part of what makes us so close. We balance each other out – the insecure but always sincere Eva, insightful yet completely oblivious Bailey, the stubborn athletic scholar Tory, and… me, Teena, the happy, impatient one. People tell us that these are the golden years, to cherish what we have, because it'll never last. They say that we're so different that we'll inevitable go our separate ways in life. But I say they're wrong. People said the same thing about our mothers' friendship, and they're still as close as ever. Yes, these are the golden years, but it doesn't have to end here. We really care about each other, and that's why our friendship is going to last.

Okay, that's nice, you might be thinking, but what about the Pants? Well, the Pants came out of the closet just in the nick of time. My friends and I went our separate ways for the summer, the Pants acting as the common thread keeping us connected. So maybe it's about time I told you how Eva, Bailey, Tory, and I had our say in the legacy of the Traveling Pants…

A/N: Ok, that's all for today. That was just the prologue. The real story begins next time! Until then, lemme know what u think!


	2. And So It Begins

A/N: Alrighty, the story finally begins. Hopefully it's ok; the second part w/ the moms kinda sucks, but o well. I tried, and there's still the rest of the story to go. QuickEdit better not screw anything up. Man, I hate that thing. Anyways, read and enjoy!

Disclaimer: In this chapter appears the Manifesto. I didn't write it, I take no credit for it, etc.

_"The past is never far" –the Goo Goo Dolls_

Teena lay sprawled out on her bedroom floor. Rolling her head to the side, she asked the timeless question: "Tory, truth or dare?" Not that she really needed to ask; she already knew the answer.

"Dare," Tory replied without hesitation.

"Ok, do the chicken dance in stilettos."

If there was one thing Tory hated, it was heels of any sort. Besides, as the tallest of her friends she didn't exactly need them. However, Tory was not the type to turn down a perfectly good dare, heels or not. She rose from her seat at the edge of Teena's bed and coolly responded, "No problem."

"Uh, Tee, you don't even have stilettos," Bailey pointed out, bouncing on the mattress.

"I don't, but my mom does," Teena responded with a grin. "Hold on a sec while I get them." She hopped to her feet and walked down the hall to her mother's room.

As far as Teena knew, any shoes that Carmen didn't wear often were kept in a clear bin on a shelf near the top of her closet. Teena reached up and felt around for the bin. But instead of hard plastic, her hand came to rest on something soft and flat. She grabbed whatever it was and brought it down.

In her hands she held a pair of neatly folded blue jeans. They looked pretty ordinary; old, yes, and a little dirty… and covered in writing…

Wait a minute, writing? Teena vaguely recalled something Carmen had once told her. "Hey, aren't these…"

She raced back to her room, nearly colliding with the door frame in the process. Her three friends stared. "Where's the heels?" Eva asked from her seat in Teena's desk chair.

Teena blinked. "Oh, yeah…" She shook her head and waved off the question. "Forget about the dare, this is way better than Tory in stilettos." Bailey saw this statement as reason for much curiosity. Teena never let anyone off so easily in Truth-or-Dare; this had to be something interesting.

After a quick look around the room to make sure she had her friends' attention, Teena unfurled the pants. Silence. She stared at the other girls, who in return stared back. "Well?"

Bailey cocked her head to the side. "I don't get it."

Tory agreed, tying back her radiant blond hair. "Yeah, neither do I. I mean, what are they, magic or something?"

"That's exactly what they are," Teena said defensively. "Don't you ever remember hearing about the Traveling Pants from your mom?"

Tory paused. "Well, yeah… but how do you know that those are the Pants?" she asked skeptically.

"Take a look at this if you want proof." Teena's hand shuffled around in the back pocket until she pulled out a tattered piece of paper, yellow with age. She unfolded the paper, and her three friends gathered round for a closer look.

_"We, the Sisterhood, hereby instate the following rules to govern the use of the Traveling Pants:_

_1.You must never wash the Pants._

2._You must never double-cuff the Pants. It's tacky. There will never be a time when this will not be tacky._

3._You must never say the word "phat" while wearing the Pants. You must also never think "I am fat" while wearing the Pants._

4._You must never let a boy take off the Pants (although you may take them off yourself in his presence)._

5._You must not pick your nose while wearing the Pants. You may, however, scratch casually at you nostril while really kind of picking._

6._Upon our reunion, you must follow the proper procedures for documenting your time in the Pants._

7._You must write to your Sisters throughout the summer, no matter how much fun you are having without them._

8._You must pass the Pants along to your Sisters according to the specifications set down by the Sisterhood. Failure to comply will result in a severe spanking upon our reunion._

9._You must not wear the Pants with a tucked-in shirt and belt. See rule #2._

10._Remember: Pants love. Love your pals. Love yourself."_

Eva took a step back. "Wow," she said appreciatively. "So those really are the Traveling Pants."

Bailey eyed the Pants thoughtfully. "You know," she considered, "those pants were supposedly magic. We should give them a try and see if the magic's still there after all these years." She turned to Tory. "Try them on."

Tory just shrugged. "Ok, sure." She slipped off her meshy green basketball shorts and caught the Pants as Teena tossed them to her. She pulled them on quickly and took a look at herself in Teena's mirror. "Hey, not bad," she said approvingly. The Pants rested nicely on her hips and seemed to trace every curve of her long, powerful legs. Her friends just stared.

"Wow," was all Eva could say.

Teena nodded slowly. "Very nice," she said.

"Those pants are hot," Bailey declared.

Tory smiled. "Yeah," she agreed. She turned around sharply. "Ok, who's the next victim?"

Bailey leapt up eagerly. "Hand 'em over," she demanded. Her smiley-face boxers fell to the floor, and she kicked them aside as Tory passed on the Pants.

This was where the real test began. Both of Bailey's parents had been scrawny as adolescents (not to say that they hadn't blossomed nicely). Thus, it was inevitable that she, too, had grown to be a scrawny teen. It was highly unlikely that the Pants would do for her what they had done for tall, athletic Tory.

Bailey took a deep breath and turned to face the mirror. She grinned. If this was a test, then she definitely had passed. The Pants seemed to like her narrow hips, on which they rested comfortably. She had breathing room yet wasn't swimming in them. No longer did she appear scrawny; it was as though she had blossomed right then and there.

"I repeat: wow," Eva said, blinking several times.

Teena bounced up and down excitedly. "You look so awesome, Bailey!"

"Seriously; Mom wasn't exaggerating when she said the Pants were magic," Tory added.

Bailey took one last glance at the mirror before sliding off the Pants. She tossed them to Teena. "Since you're so happy over there, you get them next," she said.

"Works for me," Teena responded. As she tore off her drawstring pajama pants, though, she couldn't help but worry that the Pants wouldn't work for her after all. She was slightly shorter than her friends; that's what she got for having three short grandparents. What if the Pants were too long? What if they made her fall flat on her face? Or what if they made her butt look huge? Or what if… _Oh, just get on with it already!_ she screamed at herself mentally.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she pulled up the zipper. So far, so good; they didn't feel terribly long. She opened her eyes and relaxed. The Pants hugged her form in all the right places, bagging slightly at the feet. They were absolutely…

"Perfect," Bailey declared, echoing Teena's thoughts.

Teena was very, very glad that she had stumbled across the Pants.

"Ok, Eva's turn," she announced, handing over the Pants for one final test.

Eva accepted them, tossing aside her lavender warm-ups. She slid on the Pants. Yep, there was no doubt about it—these were the greatest pants ever created. They followed her dancer's body with incredible grace. With the Pants, Eva was radiant.

"Eva, don't ever let anyone tell you that your big sister is the pretty one, because you are absolutely gorgeous," Bailey commented.

"Yeah, I mean, you usually have the whole crazy dancer thing going on, but now it's like that times ten," Tory noted.

Teena plopped down on her bed. "We really did it," she whispered breathlessly. "We found the Pants."

* * *

Teena popped her head into the kitchen, where the four mothers sat gathered round the table talking and laughing. "Mom?"

Carmen looked up to see her daughter standing in the doorway, the other girls right behind her. "Hey! Been having fun?"

"Yeah," Teena replied, "and, uh, we kinda found something."

"Something meaning…" Carmen raised her eyebrows and waited for elaboration.

Bailey held up the Pants.

A loud crash echoed as Tibby dropped her glass. Bridget squealed like a teenager, and Lena just stared. Carmen's jaw dropped. "Where on earth did you find those?"

"Your closet," Teena responded hesitantly. "You don't mind, do you?" All of the daughters were watching their mothers carefully, curious to see their reactions.

Carmen broke into a massive grin. "Mind? Yeah, right! I just can't believe the Pants have come back out after all these years!" Tibby nodded numbly in agreement, and Lena was still speechless. Bridget looked as though she might burst with excitement.

"So, did you guys try them on?" Bridget asked eagerly. The girls nodded, and Bridget took the Pants from Bailey. "My gosh, these things hold so many memories," she said, hugging the Pants tightly. Suddenly she wrinkled her nose. "Man, they smell! Where the heck have you been keeping them, Carma?"

"Just the back of my closet," Carmen said defensively. She sniffed the Pants for herself. "But I see what you mean. Tee, were you guys planning on using them?"

The daughters looked at each other and shrugged. "I guess so," Teena answered. "Why?"

Carmen looked at Bridget and nodded, and the two of them looked from Tibby and Lena back to the girls. "How about giving us a little time with them first? I think I've got an idea," Carmen said with a smile. "Besides, we've gotta do something about that smell, right?"

A/N: Yay, the story is semi-started! And yes, the mothers are up to something… mwahaha. P


	3. TodayTomorrow

A/N: I'm back! Let's face it, I suck at updating. Sorry about that. It's kinda sad to think that this was pretty much the first second-generation story on this site, and yet it's the least updated. :tear: I better get caught up before my story becomes completely unoriginal! Hehehe.

Disclaimer: The little "To honor the Pants and the Sisterhood…" chant? That's from Ann Brashares, not me. I just added the Legacy bit for my own evil purposes. For the full story disclaimer, see Ch. 1, aka Prologue.

_"Today is where your book begins" –Natasha Bedingfield_

Teena felt a hand on her shoulder as someone shook her awake. She groaned in the darkness. "Rise and shine," her mother said cheerily.

Teena sat up slowly, squinting at her alarm clock. According to the glowing red numbers, it was 2:08 A.M. "It's not even morning yet," she grumbled.

"Well, technically it is," Bailey pointed out sleepily from somewhere across the room. Three other bodies stirred in the darkness. Apparently Carmen's mission was to awaken all of the girls.

After a bit of shuffling and bumping around (Carmen had refused to turn on the light), the girls found themselves standing in the hallway, face to face with their mothers. "Mom, wanna tell us what the heck's going on?" Teena asked groggily.

"Shush, you'll find out soon," Carmen replied. Carmen was being strange and vague. Teena did not like it when Carmen was strange and vague, especially in the wee hours of the morning. She glared at her mother as best she could in her sleepy haze, which wasn't particularly well.

"All right, to the car!" Lena announced. Bridget handed out cups of coffee as the mothers herded their daughters out the front door and into Lena's minivan.

"Great, we're being kidnapped by our own mothers," Tory muttered as she fiddled with her seatbelt.

Bridget stuck out her tongue in response. "Yeah, well, I'll bet you won't be whining when you find out what we're doing, so ha!"

"I was not whining, Oh Mature One."

"Whatever, Tory."

The car took off. Lena navigated through the dimly lit streets, winding around as though she had no particular destination. Finally she stopped, pulling up in front of a park.

Eva stared as she followed the other girls out of the car. "Um, Mom? You do realize that this is right around the corner from Teena's house, right? I know your sense of direction isn't that bad."

Lena shrugged impassively. "It wasn't my idea to lead you girls around in circles. Blame it on Bee."

Tory rolled her eyes at her mother. "I should have known," she muttered.

Bridget waved all of this off and motioned for the girls to follow her and Tibby. The two moms led them to the sandbox and began spreading out a beach blanket beneath the play equipment. The girls looked at each other and shrugged, still not quite sure what their mothers had in mind.

Carmen and Lena arrived at the play equipment, arms filled with a variety of packages. Both the mothers and the daughters sat down in a circle on the blanket. Lena opened a bag of gummy worms and passed it around while Carmen set up the candles. Tibby cleared her throat.

"All right," she announced, "I think we're ready to begin the ceremony."

Bailey blinked. "Ceremony?"

"That's right, ceremony. But before we begin, we have a little story. Carma, would you do the honors?"

"Of course." Carmen straightened up a bit. "Once upon a time, there was a pair of pants. Now, these pants were not just any pants, however ordinary they might have looked. These were the Traveling Pants, and they were magic. Not only did they make you feel good about yourself, but they made you look really good, too. Many moons ago, four girls discovered the magic of the Pants. They used it to keep them together during their first summer apart, as well as the summers following that. But eventually, the Pants found themselves back in the closet, away from their days in the sun.

"The girls grew up and had daughters of their own, and the time came for the Pants to once again work their magic. Now is that time." She paused dramatically before placing the Pants in the center of the circle.

The daughters listened intently as Bridget took over. "We, the Sisterhood, pass on the Traveling Pants to you, our daughters—Eva, Tory, Bailey, and Teena. Tonight, the Pants have become a legacy. You are our legacy. The Pants rest in your hands now. Use them well." Bridget grinned. "Well, the rest is up to you guys. The Pants have been passed on!"

Teena looked at the glowing faces illuminated by the candlelight. So, this was it. The Pants lay folded in the center of the circle, waiting expectantly. She looked up as Eva cleared her throat and read the Manifesto aloud. After the reading, Lena spoke up.

"You know," she said thoughtfully, "you don't have to abide by those exact specifications. If you have your own twists that you want to add, you can recopy the Manifesto and make your own… I don't know, amendments?"

"You're giving us permission to change the Manifesto?" Eva asked, staring at her mother incredulously.

"Well, it's not like we didn't already—"

"CARMA!"

"Oops. Sorry."

Teena looked from Carmen to the Pants and back to Carmen, eying her mother suspiciously. "Mom, did you wash the Pants?"

"Of course not, Teena, don't be silly," Carmen replied airily, not quite meeting her daughter's eye.

"So, about the Manifesto," Tibby cut in.

The daughters looked at each other. "I vote for leaving it as is," Eva said.

"We might want to find a different way for documenting our Pants time," Bailey suggested.

Tory glanced at the Pants. "Yeah," she agreed. "By the time we're through, there's going to be way too much writing. It might not all fit."

The girls thought for a moment. "How about this," Eva finally said. "We write it down on a little notepad that can fit in the pocket." That idea seemed to work, so they all agreed on it. The mothers smiled proudly.

The circle tightened, and the girls chattered on, excited about the prospect of sharing in the Pants. Their lives had always been connected by a strong link, but now their togetherness seemed stronger than ever, even though they were so close to going their separate ways for the summer. Each of them could see the promise of their own journey within the Pants. It gave new meaning to the coming summer.

They talked so long that Bailey nearly drifted off to sleep on Eva's shoulder. "So," Tibby whispered, "do you think this is it?"

"Yeah," Lena replied softly, "I think so."

Bridget called for a moment of silence, and all the girls looked up. They gathered close, holding hands, and the voices of mother and daughter alike rang out from below the play equipment:

"To honor the Pants and the Sisterhood (and the Legacy)

And this moment and this summer and the rest of our lives

Together and apart."

-

A/N: I hope this little bit about the passing of the Pants does not disappoint. Next chapter is where the main story begins. You get to find out where the girls are going, etc. Husbands/fathers will be revealed in time. And just to make it clear, Eva is Lena's daughter, Tory is Bridget's daughter, Bailey is Tibby's daughter, and Teena is Carmen's daughter. I promise the gap between this chapter and the next chapter will be not nearly as long as last time (5 months… shame on me.)


	4. There She Goes

A/N: Yay, another chapter complete! Thanky so much to all my reviewers. I hope you like this chapter, too. Oh, and have a happy Thanksgiving! Read and enjoy!

"_I know we'll make it anywhere" –Snow Patrol_

Eva stood shyly at the curb, bags in hand, double-checking the address. Yep, this was the place. She pushed open the large glass door and entered the lobby of the dorm building. Almost immediately she spotted a table across the room. She walked up to it self-consciously. "Um, hi," she said to the woman sitting there. "I'm here to check in for the summer program. Is this the right place?"

The woman gave her a friendly smile. "It sure is," she replied brightly. "Name?"

"Eva Kerekes."

"All right, let's see here…" The woman looked over a list. "Ah! Here you are. Room 14 A, Aida, Mizuki, and Kerekes, Eva Lia. Right down that hallway," she said, pointing to the right. She handed Eva a stack of papers. "That's got your schedule and all the other info you need. There's an orientation dinner tonight at 6:00 in the café. I hope to see you there."

Eva took the papers and smiled. "Thanks." She picked up her bags and headed down the hall. She wondered what kind of person her roommate would be. Mizuki Aida… Well, she would find out soon enough. 14 A, 14 A… Ah, there. Eva stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath. This was it. She was about to spend the next six weeks in New York studying dance day in and day out. She had worked hard to get into this summer program, and now here she was. She closed her eyes and opened the door.

She stepped in and opened her eyes. The room was pretty basic; a set of bunk beds against one wall, two small desks, and two identical sets of drawers. Two large black suitcases sat in one corner of the room. "So, you must be 'Kerekes, Eva Lia.'" Eva jumped slightly, startled, and looked up. A petite, colorfully dressed Japanese girl leaned over the edge of the top bunk. A catlike grin stretched across her face.

"And you must be 'Aida, Mizuki,'" Eva replied evenly.

The girl sat up, her tan legs dangling in midair. "_Hai_. But you can just call me Zookie." She blinked. "You don't have to just stand there. It's your room too, you know."

"Hmm? Oh, right," Eva said, snapping out of a slight daze. She dumped her bags next to one of the dressers and plopped down in one of the desk chairs. Her mind raced the way it always did when she met new people. She never had been very good at striking up conversations, but she felt the need to say something; she would be living with this girl for the next six weeks, after all. "So… where are you from?" she asked lamely.

"Detroit. You?"

"Bethesda."

"That's in Maryland, right?" Eva nodded. "Cool."

Zookie looked at Eva intently, her expression unreadable. After an uncomfortable period of silence, she asked, "If you could be any ice cream flavor, what would you be?"

This took Eva by surprise. "Ice cream? Me? I guess I'd be… mint chocolate chip."

Zookie pondered this. "Mint chocolate chip, huh? Okay. I'd be bubble gum. The old-fashioned kind, blue with the little rainbow bubble gum chunks."

As Eva looked at her roommate again, she realized that Zookie's response made sense. From what she could tell so far, bubble gum ice cream seemed like it would fit Zookie's personality. Sometimes it was amazing what you could tell about a person just from their favorite ice cream flavor. For instance, Eva's mother was particular to rainbow sherbet. A soft, gentle, artsy kind of flavor for a soft-spoken, gentle, artsy kind of woman. Tory liked rocky road, and the chocolate ice cream with its nuts matched her tough, sarcastic side, while the marshmallows hidden away matched her not-so-visible softy side. Bailey preferred just plain chocolate, simple yet timeless, and Teena was a lover of mango ice cream (whenever she could get a hold of some, anyway), bright, flavorful, and somewhat exotic.

Zookie looked at the cat-shaped clock she had already hung on the wall. "Do you have any idea where the café we're supposed to be going to is?"

"Nope."

Zookie grinned. "Well then, roomie, I think it's time we go get ourselves lost."

-

**TorchVree**: Have you seen my frog toe socks? As in, have you stolen them recently?

**downbytheBay**: Nope. I stealthily took the monkeys, not the frogs. Check your feet?

**TorchVree**: Yeah, like that'll help.

**TorchVree**: Oh. Curse you people who know these things.

-

Tory gazed dully out the window of the taxi, ignoring her little half-brother Robin as he repeatedly poked her arm. The taxi slowed to a stop in front of a familiar two-story house. "Well, here we are!" Bridget announced cheerfully. "Robin, why don't you go in and let Gran know we're here while Tory, Daddy, and I get the bags?" Robin nodded enthusiastically and ran up the walkway toward the front door.

Tory joined her mother and stepfather in unloading the bags from the trunk of the taxi. She wondered vaguely if anyone else had arrived for the family reunion yet. She and Robin and their parents visited Greta every Christmas, but Tory had only met the rest of her mother's family a few times. She was especially interested in meeting her cousins.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the mighty Bee and company, back to join us for the summer," called a voice from behind.

"Billy!" Bridget squealed. Tory looked up to see her mother throw her arms around the redhead's neck. "It's great to see you! How've you been?"

Billy laughed. "It's been all right. So I see the gang's all here. Scott," he nodded with a grin to Bridget's husband, "and Tory! Dang, you're getting tall! How're you holding up, kiddo?"

"I'm good," Tory replied, smiling brightly. "Up for a run later?"

"You know it." Even though "Uncle" Billy technically wasn't related to her, he might as well have been. For the first five years of Tory's life, she and Bridget had lived in Burgess with Greta. Billy had been there for them that whole time, and he was the closest thing to a father Tory had had. When Tory was seven her mother married Scott, but she never felt quite as close to her stepfather as she did to Billy.

Billy picked up the last of the bags from the curb, and the four of them headed up the walkway to the house, chatting merrily. Greta and Robin were waiting for them as they entered. "Well, there you are! Bridget! How's my girl?" Greta asked, greeting her granddaughter with a hug. "Scott, glad to see you're doing well. And Tory, my gosh! You've grown since I saw you at Christmas. You've certainly got your mama's height." Once everyone got untangled from Greta's hugs, she shooed them into the kitchen. "You just leave you're bags right there. I've got lunch on the table, so eat up!"

As they settled down around the kitchen table and ate, they fell into a comfortable conversation. Tory talked about how she had gone to state finals for track in the spring, and Robin excitedly babbled about a recent museum trip with Scott. Listening to the chatter around her, Tory smiled in spite of herself. Yes, to most people she came off as cynical and even bitchy, but cliché as it might sound, being together with her family made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. She secretly loved moments like this, everyone talking and laughing and generally enjoying each other's company.

_This summer couldn't have started any more perfectly_, Tory thought.


End file.
